President's rule in Delhi

Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on 15-Feb-2014 recommended President's rule in the national capital after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal gave his resignation. 

The assembly will be kept in suspended animation. 

Arvind Kejriwal resigned on 14-Feb-2014 after his party's efforts to introduce the Jan Lokpal bill aimed at curbing corruption in high places was stalled.

The Kejriwal government, which survived on outside support of the Congress, lasted 49 days.

Jung then wrote to assembly Speaker M.S. Dhir that the Jan Lokpal bill should not be tabled as he has not approved it.

 

 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned on 15-Feb-2014 night after suffering a defeat in the assembly on the Jan Lokpal Bill and  he recommended dissolution of the assembly and holding of fresh polls.


Arvind Kejriwal said that people will teach both   ongress and the BJP   a lesson in future as the BJP and Congress joined together to defeat the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Kerala lifts ban on quarries and sand mining

Kerala Government on 14-Feb-2014 decided to allow the functioning of quarries and sand mining in river beds subject to conditions prescribed by courts and guidelines of State Environment Committee.

Railway Budget : Passenger fares and freight rates untouched

Presenting the  Railway Budget, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge   announced the launch of 17 new premium trains, 39 express trains and ten passenger trains in the coming year and providing rail connectivity to Katra and Vaishnodevi in Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast.

Independent Rail Tariff Authority will be  set up to rationalise fares and there was a proposal to expand dynamic pricing of tickets in line with the airline industry.

Passenger fares and freight rates untouched.

Annual Rail Plan has been pegged at Rs 64,305 crore with a budgetary support of Rs 30,223 crore.

Strict Punishment and fine for spreading hatred against HIV/AIDS affected Persons

 According to a new bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha, Any person found guilty of spreading or propagating hatred against people living with HIV/AIDS will face strict punishment of imprisonment up to two years and a maximum fine of Rs one lakh.

The The Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014 was tabled by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad .


The new bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha today seeks to protect rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS and end discrimination against them through stringent penal measures.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014, was tabled in the Upper House amid din by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The bill provides for protection to those infected by HIV and AIDS from denial of employment and harassment of any kind, besides provision of medical treatment while ensuring confidentiality and privacy while providing HIV and AIDS related services.

The bill also provides protection to such persons from being subjected to an HIV test without their informed consent.

 It also provides for obligation of establishments to provide for safe working environment, safeguard the rights of people infected with HIV/AIDS, particularly women and children, and establish formal mechanisms for redressing grievances and inquiring into complaints.

The Bill seeks to put in place an obmudsman to deal with such complaints both at the state and central level.

India is estimated to have 2.39 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), the third highest after South Africa and Nigeria.

2 more attempts for UPSC's civil services exams

"The central government has approved two additional attempts to all categories of candidates with effect from Civil Services Examination 2014, with consequential age relaxation of maximum age for all categories of candidates, if required," the Ministry of Personnel said in an order on 10-Feb-2014.

The Civil Services Examination (Preliminary), 2014 is tentatively scheduled to be held on 24th August this year.

The Civil Service Examinations is conducted by the UPSC to select Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) among others.

The examinations are conducted in three stages-- preliminary, mains and interview.

A candidate is permitted a maximum of four attempts for the examination. However, there is no restriction on number of attempts by a candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

As many as seven attempts are permissible to an aspirant belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBCs), according to a notification issued for Civil Services Examinations, 2013.

A candidate who has attained the age of 21 years but not attained 30 years may apply for the civil services examination, as per eligibility mentioned in the notification.

The upper age limit is relaxable up to a maximum of five years for candidates belonging to SCs or STs categories and up to a maximum of three years for candidates of OBC category among others.

The upper age limit is also relaxable upto a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in Jammu & Kashmir during 1st January 1980 to 31st December 1989.

It can also be relaxed upto a maximum of three years in the case of defence services personnel disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof.

There is also a relaxation in upper age upto a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped candidates besides other categories, the rules said. 

Information courtesy : http://www.ddinews.gov.in